BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2598
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2598
(Ting) - As Introduced February 19, 2016
SUBJECT: Lunar New Year's Day
SUMMARY: Encourages all public schools and educational
institutions to conduct culturally appropriate activities and
exercises observing the Lunar New Year and requires the Governor
to annually proclaim the date corresponding with the start of
the lunar calendar as Lunar New Year's Day. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to the significance
of Lunar New Year's Day.
2)Designates the date corresponding with the start of the lunar
calendar of each year as set apart as Lunar New Year's Day, a
day having special significance.
3)Encourages all public schools and educational institutions to
conduct culturally appropriate activities and exercises
observing the Lunar New Year on Lunar New Year's Day.
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4)Requires the Governor to annually proclaim the date
corresponding with the start of the lunar calendar as Lunar
New Year's Day.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Designates a number of days as days of special significance to
the public schools and educational institutions, and
encourages them to observe that day and to conduct suitable
commemorative exercises. Those recognizing individuals are
John Muir Day (April 21), Harvey Milk Day (May 22), Fred
Korematsu Day (January 30), Ronald Reagan Day (February 6),
and Ed Roberts Day (January 23).
2)Requires public schools to close on a number of holidays,
including January 1, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln
Day, Washington Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Veterans
Day, Thanksgiving Day, December 25, all days appointed by the
Governor or the President of the United States for a public
fast, thanksgiving or holiday, and any other day designated as
a holiday by the governing board of the school district.
3)Requires, for some specified holidays for which schools are
required to close (Dr. Martin Luther King Day, Lincoln Day,
Washington Day), that schools conduct exercises in
commemoration.
4)Authorizes public schools to close on two other days if the
governing board, pursuant to a collective bargaining
agreement, agrees to close schools for that purpose. These
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days are César Chávez (March 31) and Native American Day
(fourth Friday in September).
5)Requires public schools to remain open on specified days
(unless otherwise closed to mark a holiday by decision of the
governing board), and to celebrate the significance of those
days with appropriate commemorative exercises. These days are
the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, the
birthdays of Luther Burbank (March 7) and Susan B. Anthony
(February 15), and the death of Crispus Attucks (March 5).
6)Requires the State Board of Education to ensure that state
curriculum on César Chávez and the history of the farm labor
movement in the United States include information on the role
of immigrants, including Filipino Americans, in that movement.
7)Designates October 25th of each year as Larry Itliong Day, a
day of special significance, and requires the Governor to
annually proclaim October 25th of each year as Larry Itliong
Day. Encourages all public schools and educational
institutions to observe this day and conduct exercises
remembering the life and contributions of Larry Itliong.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author's office states, "California is
home to nearly six million individuals of Asian Pacific Islander
descent, many of whom celebrate Lunar New Year as a time to
renew family ties and start the new year with a clean slate.
The spirit of Lunar New Year is especially significant for
communities whose families have been forcibly kept separated,
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both historically through discriminatory and xenophobic laws
such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration
Act of 1917 that barred Asian and Pacific Islander immigration
into the United States, and currently in light of continued
deportations and challenges to programs such as Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of
Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) that aim to keep
families unified.
The Lunar New Year is also a celebration of prosperity,
strength, good health, and long life. Policies like the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and extensions of the
Medi-Cal program to all children, including those who are
undocumented, ensure access to comprehensive health insurance,
instead of reliance on emergency care, so all members of the
community can benefit from positive health outcomes.
Designating Lunar New Year as a day of special significance to
be observed and commemorated in schools will promote tolerance
and provide students with increased cultural awareness about the
API community in California and this important holiday."
Lunar New Year's Day. The Lunar New Year typically occurs in
late January or early February and is a significant cultural
event for Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and some other Asian
ethnic groups. The San Francisco Unified School District closes
its schools in observance of the lunar new year, and this year
the New York City Department of Education did the same. This
bill encourages, but does not require, public schools and
educational institutions to conduct exercises celebrating the
occasion.
Related legislation. SB 616 (Huff and Nguyen) of this Session
would require the Governor, each year, to designate the date
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corresponding with the start of the Asian lunar calendar as
Asian Lunar New Year's Day, a day having special significance
and encourage all public schools and educational institutions to
conduct exercises observing the Asian Lunar New Year with
appropriate activities and programs. This bill is pending in
the Assembly.
AB 7 (Bonta), Chapter 29, Statutes of 2015, designates October
25th of each year as Larry Itliong Day, a day of special
significance, and requires the Governor to annually proclaim
October 25th of each year as Larry Itliong Day. Encourages all
public schools and educational institutions to observe this day
and conduct exercises remembering the life and contributions of
Larry Itliong.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus
Multicultural Council of America
Opposition
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None received
Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087